Compassion and Anger 378
were soaking her clothes, and she was almost collapsing.

Similarly, when the Sankhasura demon was attacking Krgna’s
queens one after another, Lord Baladeva became more and more
bluish.

In the Hamsadita, the following incident is described: The gopis
requested Hamsadiita to search after the marks of Krsna’s lotus feet
and to accept them as Lord Brahma had accepted them on his helmet
after he had stolen all Krsna’s cowherd boys. Regretting his challenge
to Krsna, Lord Brahma had bowed down before the Lord, and his
helmet became marked with the footprints of Krsna. The gopis re-
minded Hamsadiita that sometimes even the great sage Narada be-
comes very ecstatic by seeing these footprints, and sometimes great
liberated sages also aspire to see them. “You should therefore seek
very enthusiastically to find the footprints of Krsna,” they urged.
This is another instance of devotional service in compassion.

There is another instance when Sahadeva, the younger brother of
Nakula, became greatly gladdened at seeing the effulgent glowing of
Krsna’s footprints. He began to cry and call out, “Mother Madr!
Where are you now? Father Pandu! Where are you now? I am very
sorry that you are not here to see these footprints of Krsna!” This is
another instance of devotional service in compassion.

In such devotional service in compassion there are sometimes
smiling symptoms, but never is there any stress or lamentation. The
basic principle is always ecstatic love. The apprehension of some
mishap to Krsna or to His beloved queens, as exhibited by Baladeva
and Yudhisthira, has been explained above. This apprehension is not
exactly due to their ignorance of the inconceivable potencies of
Krsna but to their intense love for Him. This kind of apprehension
of some mishap to Krsna first of all becomes manifested as an object
of lamentation, but gradually it develops into such compassionate
loving ecstasy that it turns to another channel and gives transcen-
dental pleasure.

Anger
In ecstatic loving service to Krsna in anger, Krsna is always the ob-
